LSU LIFT2 Fund

There are presently no open calls for submissions.

PROPOSALS DUE SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

1. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The LSU LIFT2 Fund was created by the LSU Board of
Supervisors in January of 2014 to help “Leverage Innovation for Technology
Transfer” across all the campuses of the LSU system. By permanently securing a
portion of licensing income for the LSU LIFT2 Fund,
LSU has ensured continual reinvestment in new innovation opportunities and
affirmed its commitment advancing discoveries to benefit the public. Commercialization of academic
innovations through technology transfer further enhances multiple aspects of
LSU’s mission and creates new
economic opportunity in Louisiana and elsewhere.

A primary objective
of technology transfer at LSU, like most other research universities
nationwide, is the transition of innovations from the laboratory to the
marketplace for public use and
benefit. Many discoveries, however, require significant additional development
to prove sufficient technical feasibility to attract commercial partners.
Funding for this type of research is difficult to obtain from either
government or private sources, leaving many promising innovations languishing
in a funding gap often referred to as “the valley of death.”

Awards from the LIFT2 Fund will provide LSU’s
entrepreneurial and creative faculty with small “proof-of-concept” grants to
support further commercialization of innovations, help establish data which can
support commercial feasibility of the innovation, and thus reduce the risk for
companies interested in licensing it. “Innovations”
are defined broadly, to include both creative and artistic works as well as
devices, drugs, software, and other more traditional concepts; thus, faculty
from all disciplines and all LSU campuses are encouraged to consider an
application.

Because there is a
desire to expedite the disbursement of the LSU LIFT2 Fund and begin to make rapid changes
to the innovation ecosystem across the LSU campuses, this initial phase of the
program is being launched as a pilot program. It is expected that lessons learned
will be applied to optimize later management of the LSU LIFT2 grant award program, which may result
in some changes to the award guidelines and rules. The fundamental principle of moving a
concept closer to commercialization, however, will remain the guiding purpose
of the LSU LIFT2 Fund.

2. ELIGIBILITY

a. A full
time LSU employee employed on any LSU campus, in any discipline, is eligible to
submit an application for a LIFT2 Grant if the proposal is to
further develop and prove the concepts detailed in an innovation which
previously has been disclosed to and is still actively being managed by the
respective campus TTO

b. LSU
innovators who hold administrative appointments and who also maintain an active
research program are eligible to apply for a LIFT2 Grant.

c. LSU innovators who have an active LIFT2 Grant shall not be eligible to
apply for an additional LIFT2 Grant until the open award has been
completed in accord with all program rules and closed.

d. Proposals
for basic research projects that do not further the commercial development of a
previously disclosed innovation are not eligible and will not
be considered.

e. Any proposal
for a project to develop a previously disclosed innovation which is either (i) subject
to an unexpired obligation under a university contract, (ii) already licensed
or optioned to a company at the time of application for a LIFT2
Grant, or (iii) sponsored by or affiliated with any commercial entity, are not
eligible and will not be considered.

f. LSU innovators
may submit only one application for a LIFT2 Grant in each award
cycle.

3. AWARD
DESCRIPTION

In this Round 3 of the LSU LIFT2
Fund, a maximum of $500,000 will be available to support proof-of-concept
activities to further prepare innovations for commercialization. There is no guarantee of either the amount of
funding available or the number of awards in future grant cycles. Grants will be awarded in amounts up to
$50,000, although projects requesting $25,000-$30,000 are strongly encouraged.

The application for a LIFT2
Grant should be submitted electronically by the Principal Investigator, along
with all required documentation. It is
the responsibility of each applicant to ensure that the appropriate campus
sponsored programs officers and any other required campus officials have
approved the proposal prior to submission.

Allowable costs include supplies, equipment,
travel, and professional services which can be justified as necessary for further
support of commercialization. Unallowable
budget items include F&A costs and graduate student tuition remission. Because the LIFT2 funds are
intended to support further commercialization of an innovation through
experimental proof of concept, requests for salary and associated fringe support,
whether for the principal investigator, a research associate, a graduate
student, or other personnel, will decrease the attractiveness of the
application and may result in a lower score, depending on the particular
circumstances of a proposed project. All
budgets must be reviewed and approved by the appropriate campus sponsored
programs office prior to submission of the application by the principal
investigator.

Payment will be made in two
installments. Upon project initiation
through execution of a Letter Agreement
for LIFT2 Awards, 85% of funds awarded will be transferred to a
university account; the remainder will be transferred upon submission of the
required mid-term reports. Any
unexpended funds remaining at the time of project completion shall be returned
to the LSU LIFT2 Fund.